1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of location based communication, specifically as relating to geotagged asynchronous threaded conversations between multiple participants.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the advent of global positioning satellites (GPS) and smart cellular phones, exemplified by the popular iPhone and Android devices, various methods of geotagging data have become popular.
For example, Phillips et. al., in U.S. Pat. No. 7,848,765, taught a location based social network service in which users could define a geofence, pass the current location of a portable electronic device to an application server, and transmit instructions to the user to offer a service that is not offered when the user is outside of the geofence.
By contrast, Oh, in US patent application 2010/0056183, taught a method and system for providing location based communication services in which access to a real time chat session between a user and a defined group of other users based on detecting when the user was within a certain proximity of a point of interest, and establishing electronic communication between the user and the group of users.
Birnie and Fortescue, in US patent application 2008/0104227 taught a searching and route mapping method based on a social network, location, and time. Here GPS methods of contacting other social network members based on the location of the other social network members were taught. By contrast, Fortescue and Birnie, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,917,152 taught using GPS methods to allow social network members to request the positions of other social network members.
Yardeni et. al., in US patent application 2007/0271367, also taught a system and method for location-based social web interaction and instant messaging. The system allows the various locations of instant messaging users to be plotted on a map.
In spite of these advances, and in spite of the popularity of smart phones and other devices equipped with various types of location determining means, including location by triangulation between different cell phone towers, and GPS methods, geotagged based communication methods are still not widely used. Thus further advances in the field would be desirable.